Closure for ventilators



July 24, 1956 R. A. FRISBY 2,755,728 CLOSURE FOR vmmmroas Filed June 12,1952,

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// wax? INVE \ITOR a ymzzdzifiaky I j A? Z553 L5 I? ATTORNEYS finite 1This invention relates to means for closing ventilators.

Many houses have ventilators in the eaves, in the gables, in the wall ofthe basement, and elsewhere, designed to admit small quantities of airflow. It is frequently desirable to close these ventilator openings. Forexample a house located in Florida is subjected to severe windstorms,during which the ventilators should be closed. Such ventilators inhouses in the northern parts of this country should be provided withmeans to close the ventilators during cold periods. In the absence ofmeans for closing the ventilator, strong winds will carry greatquantities of water and/or cold air into the attic (or basement) of thehouse.

It is highly desirable that the means for closing the ventilator besimple, inexpensive and capable of being operated to close theventilator in a few seconds. It is the primary object of this inventionto provide a ventilator meeting these qualifications.

In carrying out the invention, I provide a rectangular frame having ascreen covering the opening in the frame and supported by one side ofthe frame. The screen is attached to the frame near the outer edgesthereof. There is a space between the screen and the frame contiguouswith the opening in the frame. A plate may be inserted into the openingin the frame, parallel to the screen, to cover the latter. The plateextends into the space between the frame and the screen and may bereadily slipped in and out of its operating position. A spring holds theplate in place once it is properly inserted in operating position.Further details will be apparent during the detailed description whichfollows:

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a cross-section of an cave of a house showing the inventionapplied thereto.

Figure 2 is a back side view of the die cast frame, with the screen andthe cover plate removed.

Figure 3 is a view of my device looking at it from the front.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the device taken along the line 4-4 ofFigure 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the device taken along the line 55 ofFigure 2.

Figure 6 is a detail view showing a portion of the die-cast aluminumframe.

In Figure 1, a house to which the invention is applied has a roof 10 andan eave 11. An opening 12 for ventilating purposes is preferably coveredby a screen 13. As shown in Figure 4 the screen is held in place by adie cast aluminum frame 14 which is connected to the eave 11 by screws15. There are indents 16 and 17 along the inner walls of frame 14 onopposite sides of the opening in it. Located in the indent 17 aresprings 18 and 19, which may be of any well known shape, and which maybe compressed toward the wall of the frame and which exert a forceoutward when so compressed. In addition there is flat plate 20 having ahandle 21 which may be inserted into the indents 16 and 17. In order todo this, one edge of the plate 20 is first laid against States Patent 02,755,728 Patented July 24, 1956 springs 18 and 19, as shown in Figure5, and pressure on plate is exerted in the direction of arrow 22. Thiscompresses springs 18 and 19, allowing the free end of plate 20 to clearthe projection 23 of frame 14. When the plate 20 is rotated around itsleft end (as in Figure 5) until it is parallel to and adjacent thescreen, no further pressure is exerted toward the left, hence springs 18and 19 press the plate 20 under projection 23 and into indent 16 andagainst stop members 25. The cover plate 20 is therefore firmly confinedin front of the screen 13 to block strong winds from passingtherethrough. If cover plate 20 is made of thin metal, it may beprovided with indents 24 for purposes of reinforcement.

In order to lay a basis for the terminology to be used in the claims, itmay be stated that the portion of the frame 14 surrounding the head ofscrew 15 together with projection 23 constitutes the base of frame 14.That upstanding portion of frame 14 in contact with screen 13 is a ledgecarried by the base and supporting the screen.

I contemplate that in marketing the invention, a device consisting ofthe screen 13, frame 14, springs 18 and 19, and plate 20 would be soldas a unit. Screws 15 could be sold with the unit, or furnishedseparately, but in any event they are first put in place during ultimateinstallation. It is desirable to retain the screen 13 attached to frame14 during shipping and during that part of the installation procedureprior to insertion of screws 15. For this purpose four small rivets 16permanently afiix the screen 13 to the frame 14. These rivets remain inplace during and after installation of the device and do not interferewith installation in any way. However, it is of course understood thatonce the device is installed the screws 15 are primarily relied upon tohold the frame 14 and screen 13 in their proper places. It is alsopossible to use pins in place of rivets 16. Pins will not permanentlyafiix the screen to the frame, but are useful during installation tohold the screen in proper position until screws 15 are put in place.

The device may be installed anywhere that a ventilating opening isprovided. For example some houses have a basement under only a part ofthe house and a ventilating opening from the basement to the spaceexisting between the ground and the rest of the house. My device can beused to cover that opening.

I claim to have invented:

1. A ventilator comprising a rectangular frame having a rectangularcentral opening, ledges on one side of the frame along opposed edgesthereof, a screen, means for fastening the screen to said ledges inparallel relation to the frame, said frame defining holes therethroughperpendicular to the plane of the screen whereby the frame may bemounted on a base with the screen held between the frame and the base,said ledges being narrower than the frame whereby there are spacesbetween the screen and the frame along the inner Walls of the ledges, aspring mounted on one of the ledges and extending into the spaceadjacent that ledge toward the opposing ledge, and a rectangular closureplate having one dimension slightly greater than the distance from thespring to the opposing ledge and having its other dimension slightlyless than the complementary dimension of the rectangular opening andbeing held by said ledges under the action of said spring.

2. A device adapted to be mounted on the surface of a wall to cover ahole in the wall comprising a frame larger than the hole to be coveredand having means enabling it to be mounted on the surface of the wall, ascreen which may be mounted between the frame and the wall when theframe is mounted on the wall, said frame having a central openingthrough which the hole in the wall is exposed, said frame having coverplate retaining indents along opposite inner edges thereof, a

spring in one of the indents, and a cover plate which may be insertedinto said indents and held thereby 'by pressing one edge thereof againstsaid spring in one of said indents and inserting the other end into itscomplementary indent.

3. A device as defined in claim 2 in which the screen extending beyondand spaced inwardly from said indents is attached to one surface of theframe.

4. A device adapted to be mounted on the surface of a wall to cover ahole in the Wall comprising a rectangular frame larger than the hole tobe covered and having a rectangular central opening therein, said framehaving holes therethrough perpendicular to the plane thereof whereby itmay be screwed to the Wall at points around the hole in the wall, saidframe having a surface adapted to face the Wall and cover plateretaining indents in the frame along opposing inner edges thereof, theindents extending from the plane of said surface inwardly for a limiteddistance, a spring mounted in one of said indents, and a rectangularclosure plate having a dimension slightly larger than the spacing of thesaid opposed inner edges and having its other dimension slightly shorterthan the distance between the remaining two inner edges of the frame andfitting into said opposing indents and held thereby under the action ofsaid spring.

5. A device as defined by claim 4 having in addition a screen largerthan the hole in the Wall to be covered and adapted to be mountedbetween the screen and the wall spaced from said indents.

6. A device as defined in claim 4 having in addition a screen mounted onsaid surface and extending across the central opening in the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

